Water line break near 2nd and Olive kept city workers busy.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — A 14-inch waterline break around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday,  just east of the 2nd and Olive Street in south Wellington, kept city workers busy throughout the evening.

Wellington City Manager Roy Eckert said it should not affect the city’s water supply. City residence may experience some discoloration of water, but that is more due to the recent flushing of the hydrants, he said.

The only location that did not have water last night was ironically the water power generating plant which is nearby, Eckert said.

Eckert said the city has detected two other water line breaks on F and Lincoln and H and Lincoln. Water reserves are coming from the two water towers, mostly from Worden Park, until the pipes are fixed.

“It’s fixable,” Eckert said. “We have an aging infrastructure and these things will happen. The water guys have done a great job of rerouting water. They’ve been doing if for 30 years.”

The pipe that broke in south Wellington comes from a 14-inch cast iron pipe that was built in 1950, Eckert said. The pipe has been patched and water is running at low pressure. He said to find permanent replacement pieces for the pipe could take up to two weeks.

Eckert said the best guess for the line breakage may be caused by the flushing of the water hydrants. With the pressure of the water during this process it will find a weak spot in the line. He also said recent earth movement possibly caused by oil fracking may be causing stress on the water lines.

“The water table is fine,” Eckert said. “There is plenty of water.”

He urged citizens that if they see water coming out of the pavement to contact the city of Wellington.

Follow us on Twitter.